Former Quaker Valley standout Dane Jackson makes impact in NFL debut for Bills - TribLIVE

Cornell graduate Dane Jackson played his high school football at Quaker Valley because the Raiders didn’t have a football team, and he continued his career at Pitt, where he became an impact player.

Now, Jackson is playing on Sundays for the Buffalo Bills, and the former Quaker had himself a special NFL debut against the New York Jets.

Making his first start at defensive back in place of the injured Josh Norman, Jackson tallied three tackles and two pass deflections along with the first interception of his NFL career.

With just under 50 seconds to go in the first half against the Jets, Jackson dropped back into zone coverage that he disguised and made a play on a pass by quarterback Sam Darnold that was intended for Jeff Smith.

Jackson returned the interception 6 yards and set the Bills up to score a field goal before halftime that cut the Jets’ lead to 10-6.

“I felt good, and it felt kind of surreal out there,” Jackson said after the Bills’ 18-10 win on Oct. 27. “I went out there with a lot of confidence thanks to the older guys. They kept telling me they believe in me, and they kept telling me that I was meant to be here, and I just felt good. It felt like I had a lot of confidence out there.”

Up to that point, the Jets offense had been running all over the Bills. The Jets had tallied 186 yards of total offense and held a 10-0 lead until the Bills converted their first of six field goals with just over seven minutes to go in the first half.

After Jackson’s interception, the Bills only allowed 4 yards the rest of the game, which is the fewest yards they have allowed in the second half since at least 2000.

“I felt like I was able to give the guys a boost, but it wasn’t all me,” Jackson said. “Thanks to the D-line, to everyone up front and everyone else doing their job. I did not do it all myself, and I just want to give thanks to all the other guys. That gave us a boost.”

Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer said Jackson’s play swung the momentum for the Bills heading into halftime, and Bills coach Sean McDermott said the team was fired up for Jackson on the sidelines.

“Guys were fired up on the sideline, and that just goes back,” McDermott said. “Our coaches do a great job of working with these players, every player on our roster, from the minute they get in the door to the minute they leave in developing our players.”

Over the course of his four-year career at Pitt, Jackson made 113 tackles, picked off four passes and tallied 43 total pass deflections in 50 games. He also forced four fumbles, which all came during his junior season, and recovered two. He was a seventh-round selection by the Bills in the 2020 NFL draft.

Up until Sunday’s game, Jackson had not played a snap of professional football. He spent the first six games of the season on the Bills practice squad. So, when Norman could not go Sunday, Jackson was elevated from the practice squad, and he was ready to go.

“Give him the credit. He was ready. When his number was called, he was ready, and that’s a part of being a team,” McDermott said.

“We have to continue to get contributions from the young players, and that’s a strength of our team as we continue to develop as an overall team here.”

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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